Monday Message from February 7th

Make Sleep a Priority
by Lori Brizee, MS RD


Ahhh … a good night's sleep … At long last, something enjoyable that is good for your child's health! Make sure your child gets enough shut eye and you will provide them with an additional tool to help fight obesity. Research indicates that from infancy through adolescence and possibly adulthood, people who get the least sleep tend to gain weight the faster and are more apt to be obese than those who get the recommended amount of sleep. One theory is that fatigue leads to lower physical activity and/or increased appetite, which then results in excess weight gain.


Make Sleep a Priority

ADA spokesperson Ximena Jimenez MS, RD, LD, dietitian for Head Start in Florida sees parents as role models for their kids — if parents don't make sleep a priority for themselves, their kids won’t either. In our hectic world, getting by on little sleep, so we can "get more done" is unfortunately often viewed as a virtue.

Marilyn Tanner-Blasiar MHS, RD, LD clinical pediatric dietitian in St. Louis, Mo. and ADA spokesperson, sees lack of parent enforced bedtimes as a problem. She works with many families in which kids stay up late at night, playing video games or watching television and eating long after parents have gone to bed, often resulting in weight problems for the kids. She believes that health care providers and the media could help better inform individuals and society about the importance of sleep.



What Can You Do?

•Make adequate sleep a priority for YOU. Your kids will follow.

•Set and enforce regular bedtimes.

•Limit or cut out non-essential activities on school days — TV, computer/video games, cell phone texting, etc.

•Spend the half an hour before bedtime doing quiet, calming activities with your kids, like reading, listening to music, or talking about their day to help them wind down and be ready for sleep.

•If your child has problems sleeping, check out www.sleepforkids.org for practical tips.

How Much Sleep Does My Child Need?

Newborn infants: 0 to 2 months- 12 to 18 hours (includes naps)
Infants: 3-11 months- 14 to 15 hours (includes two naps)
Toddlers: 1-3 years- 12 to 14 hours (includes one nap)
Preschoolers: 3-5 years- 11 to13 hours (includes one nap)
School-age children: 5-10 years- 10-11 hours
Teens : 10-17 years- 8 ½ to 9 ¼ hours
Adults- 7 to 9 hours

Source: National Sleep Foundation